Monday, November 9, 2015

This is a repost from my Art Blog, but it's such a big deal to me, I wanted to post it here as well. :-)

The weather outside may be frightful here this week, but it's definitely
raining sunshine in my life right now. To put the magnitude of this
into perspective, let me start from the beginning.

In late June 2013, I decided on a whim that I wanted to try my hand at
painting for a hobby, so got a cheap student grade watercolor set and a
pad of paper and set about attempting to learn to paint. It didn't take
long for the art bug to bite for real, though, and I began experimenting
with a variety of media including acrylic paint, charcoal and graphite.
Frustrated with the student grade paints, I moved up to artist quality
watercolors and acrylics, then expanded to Gouache and colored pencils
which worked much, much better and were a lot more enjoyable to use.

As much fun as I was having, however, I still felt like something was
missing so in September of 2013 I picked up a small set of student grade
soft pastels and a little pad of pastel paper just to see what they
were like. After my first two attempts, I was more frustrated than ever
and decided perhaps soft pastels just weren't for me. Luckily, I was
intercepted by some other pastel artists who noted that my frustration
was in all likelihood due to the lower quality of my pastels and the
very challenging paper I had selected to use with them rather than an
innate inability with the medium. Never one to give up too easily, I
picked up a small set of artist quality pastels and a little sampler of
sanded paper - what a difference! It only took a couple of test mini
paintings and I was hooked. Determined to learn this medium, I gradually
expanded my collection of high quality pastels and surfaces, and
studied everything I could find on them - books, online tutorials, other
artists' websites. Ever since, I've been painting like a woman
possessed - at least several times a week consistently. Most of my
earlier works were mediocre at best, but I was putting in my time with
painting and getting practice making marks, learning about color,
values, temperatures and composition. I studied everything I could find
on pastels and painting in general to help me learn. I checked books out
from the library, purchased online training courses and joined the
local pastel society.

Ever so slowly, things began to happen. I got juried into several shows
and even won first place at the State Fair. But I wanted to continue
improving and growing as an artist, so I was delighted when, at one of
the local pastel society meeting, I met another member who had given an
incredible demo earlier in the year and discovered that she taught and,
even better, was willing to travel to my home to teach me! After hiring Addren Doss
and studying with her this year, I saw noticeable improvement in my
painting, which carried over even into my other mediums, and I began to
dream bigger. I had heard about the Pastel Society of America
- the premier organization of serious pastel artists. Unlike the other
art organizations I had joined, membership in PSA are offered only on a
juried basis, and I had heard how high their standards are so I knew it
was going to require even harder work on my part if I were to have any
hopes at all of getting in. So I continued to study and practice and
work harder than I ever thought I could at my painting. It was difficult
and frustrating at times, and other times things just clicked. I turned
out some paintings I felt very good about and some that went directly
into the "studies to maybe repaint later" bin. But I never stopped
working at it, and I never lost sight of my goal. By the October PSA
jurying session, I finally had five paintings I felt good enough about
to submit for consideration for membership.

This weekend, roughly 26 months after that first frustrating attempt to
draw something with a stick of pastel, I got the letter that validated
all my hard work. The letter welcoming me as a juried Associate Member
of the Pastel Society of America. But this is not the end - rather the
beginning. Now the even harder work begins and I'm intensifying my
efforts with lessons and practice as I pursue that next ever more more
challenging step on this artistic journey, the quest for Signature
status.